Onion grading rollers



Nov. 16, 1948.' R. D. sHEPPARD 2,454,015

ONION GRADING ROLLERS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 22, 1944 wrak/virFiled April 22, 1944 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN1/EN rox. almn She/4jaar!!fi/ffy MW,

R. D. sHEPPARD 2,454,015

ONION GRADING ROLLERS I Nov., l, l`

Filed April 22, 1944 -3 Sheets-Sheet 3 MIU! IN `VEN TOR.

V4/MM Patented Nov. 16, 1948 NiTD STATES PATENT OFFICE ONION GRADINGROLLERS Richard D. Sheppard, Bridgeton, N. J. Application April 22,1944, Serial No. 532,329

1 claim. l

This invention is a device for cleaning and size grading objects such asonions, potatoes, beets, flower bulbs and like objects which can beadvantageously cleaned and size graded to enhance their marketability,

Objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in parthereinafter and in part will be obvious herefrom, or may be learnedbypractice with the invention, the same being realized and attained bymeans. of the instrumentalities and combinations pointed out in theappended claim.

The invention consists in the novel parts, constructions, arrangements,combinations and improvements herein shown and described.

The accompanying drawings, referred to herein and constituting a parthereof, illustrate one embodiment of the invention, and together withthe description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Objects of this invention are to provide a new and useful device forcleaning, and grading objects of the nature aforesaid tothe end that thecleaning, grading and sacking of such objects can be performed in a morerapid and commercially practical manner with great savings in time,labor, and equipment and in operating cost.

y Of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view in top plan of a presently preferred embodiment of thisinvention with parts omitted for better understanding;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view in plan of the embodiment of Fig.1:

Fig. 4 is a view in section of the embodiment of Fig. 1 taken along theline B- of Fig. 3; and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged isometric view of the delivery end of one of therollers of the embodiment of Fig. 1.

'I'his invention comprises a set of elongated cleaning and gradingmembers mounted for rotation on their lengthwise axis, to which objects,such for example, as onions,to be cleaned, graded and sacked, may be fedat one end and from the other end of which the objects are delivered ina clean state and in separate streams made up of the diiierent sizes ofonions, respectively. For example, the onions of a size equal ,to orlarger than one and one-half inches, that is', onions of the so-calledU. S. No. 1 grade, may be delivered in one stream; and, the smalleronions, that is, onions of the so-called U. S. No, 2 grade, or U. S.seconds, delivered in a separate stream.

Additionally, the invention comprises means for collecting the onions ofone of the streams comprised, for example, of the smaller onions and fordelivering these onions to one or another or all of a plurality ofreceiving stations.

The invention further comprises the combination of the set of powerdriven cleaning and grad` ing members and the collecting and deliveringmeans for one of said streams, with a self-propelled vehicle upon whichthe foregoing are mounted for convenient transportation and of which theengine may serve as a prime mover for the set of cleaning and gradingmembers.

It will be understood that the foregoing general description and thefollowing detailed description as well are exemplary and explanatory butare not restrictive of the invention.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing ends and objects and inaccordance with this invention there is provided an elongated framestructure l0, which may be of wood, metal or any other suitablematerial, and in which a set of parallelly arranged elongated cleaningand grading members Il are mounted for rotation on their lengthwise axesand mechanically coupled for simultaneous rotation in the same directionat the same speed.

The frame structure I il, as embodied, is open at the top and bottom, isof generally rectangular shape and is supported by suitable structuralmeans so as to assume an upwardly inclined position from front to rear,that is, from left to right, as viewed in Fig. 4, and from its feed endto its delivery end, that is from right to left as 35 other by parallelvertical end frame members or headboards I3 at the delivery end and thefeed end, respectively of the frame structure.

Each of the rotary cleaning and grading members Il extends substantiallythe full length of the frame structure Ill between the frame members I3,with the rotational axes of the members in a common plane inclinedupwardly from front to rear, as is best seen in Fig. 4, and from thefeed end to the delivery end, as is shown in Fig. 2.

A minimum of two of the rotary members H may be used but a larger numberis preferred to provide a capacity suiicient to process the onions atcommercially practical rates. Accordingly, and as here preferablyembodied, three pairs of the rotary cleaning and grading members Il areprovided, the members being of identical construction so that adescription of one is equally applicable to any and all of the others.

Each cleaning and grading member Il as -em- -bodied is in the nature ofa screw having arelation I4 as by means of screws I3".

. 3 tively large diameter portion extending throughout a major portionof its length forming a cleaning section, and having a smaller diameterportion over the rest of its length forming a sorting or gradingsection. As here preferably embodied each member I I comprises a woodenbody portion I4 of cylindrical contour having a cleaning section I l oflone diameter and a sorting section I1 of lesser diameter. vA rope I3 iswound in helical fashion about the body portion I4 of the member fromend to end over the sections I3 and I1, each turn of the rope beingfastened to the body portion I4 by staples I a and being equally spacedfrom the next by a determin'ed equal amount over the length of thecleaning section I8 and by a lesser equal amount over the length of thesorting section I1. A shoe I3' preferably of metal covers the deliveryend of each rope to prevent fraying of the rope end and is anchored tothe body porpreferably forms a continuation. of the rope helix over thesorting section I1 of the members I I and has an inclined top surfacefrom adjacent the rope end to the surface of the body portion I4. Axles2l and 2I project from the opposite ends of the body portion I4 forrotatably mounting the members I I between the frame members I3.. 'Theaxles 2l are journalled in suitable bearing members 23 carried by theleft-hand frame member I3 and the axles 2| are journalled in therighthand frame member I3.

The bearing members 22, one for each of the axles 2l, are bolted orotherwise suitably anchored Each shoe Il' The rotary members II and theroller 23 are suitably interconnected at their feed end so as to bedriven simultaneously at the same speed in a clockwise direction,looking from the feed end to the delivery end of the device. The rope I3on each body portion I4 is wound in the opposite direction, however, soas to effect a movement of the onions from the feed end to the deliveryend of the members II. The front rotary member Il carries on its axle 2Ua sprocket 28, Fig. 8, having Aa single row of teeth and the axle 2l ofthe baille roller 23 carries a sprocket 23 of the same diameter havingthe same number of teeth. Each of the other members II carries on itsaxle 2| a sprocket 36 of the same diameter, but with adouble row ofteeth, the several sprockets being suitably interconnected by means ofheavy duty roller chains 3I so as to be driven together in the samedirection at the same speed when power is applied ence between adjacentturns of the ropes.

to the left-hand frame member I3 along its upper edge which slantsupwardly from front to rear at an angle corresponding to the desiredcommon plane of the axes of the members II. Similarly, the right-handframe member I3 is apertured to receive the axles 2I in accordano withthe same tion I3 to the surface below and yet is not of such magnitudethat the onions of the smallest desired size may fall therebetweenthroughout the length of the cleaning section.

A baffle roller 23 is revolvably mounted between y the frame members I3in a position generally above and to the rear of the rearmost rotarymember II in axially parallel relation thereto.

The baille roller 23 is of cylindrical or substantially cylindricalcontour and of uniform diameter and is provided with axles 24 and 25 atits opposite ends. The axle 24 journalled in a bearing member 24 carriedby the left-hand frame member I3 and the axle 25 is journalled in therighthand frame member I3 through which it passes and is connected todriving mechanism by which it is rotated, as will be described morefully hereinafter.

A baule board 21 is carried by the rear wall I2 of the frame structureI0 in a. position generally above and to the rear ofthe baille roller 23and in paralleling relation thereto. The baffle board 21 slants upwardlyfrom front to rear from a position closely adjacent to the bame roller23 to the rear wall member I3 and in conjunction .with the baille roller23 ,serves to return to the cleaning and grading members II, thoseonions which may be thrown upwardly thereagainst by the members I I.

A housing wall 32 parallels the right-hand headboard I3. The axle 2| ofone of the center pairs of the rollers II is extended across thesprockethousing thus formed and is journalled in the wall 32. A sprocket 33 oflarger diameter than the sprockets 23. 23 and 30 is secured to thisextended axle. A roller chain 34 connects the sprocket 33 with a drivingsprocket 3l of smaller diameter secured to a pulley shaft 34 alsocarrying a pulley 31.

A tensioning shaft 33 parallels the axles 2I and is journalled at itsends in the housing wail 32 and in the right-hand headboard I3 andcarries therebetween an eccentric journal member 33 fixed to the shaft.A pair of pulley arms 40 extend rerearwardly therefrom in spacedparallel relation to each other. The arms 4l are journalled on thejournal member 39 at their front end and support the shaft 33 at theiropposite end with the sprocket 35 situated between the arms. The shaft33 preferably extends through the housing wall 32 for convenience inturning the shaft to effect a back or forth movement of the arms 43 anda consequent tightening or loosening of the chain 34 through the camaction of the eccentric journal member 33.

The driven pulley 31 is preferably readily removably secured to thepulley shaft 33 so that pulleys of different diameters may be utilizedfor driving the members II at selected differing speeds. Power issupplied to the pulley 31 by means of a belt 4I connecting the pulley 31to a driving pulley 42 of a suitable prime mover such, for example, asthe engine 43 of an automobile upon whose chassis 44 the frame structureI0 is preferably mounted in suitable fashion.

Means are provided for tensioning the belt 4I so as to control the flowof power from the prime mover 43 to the members II at will. As herepreferably embodied, a link 45 is hingedly connected at its lower end tothe arms 40 lintermediate their ends and also at its upper end to alever 43 fulcrumed on a shaft 41 extending between the headboard I3 andthe housing wall 32. Any suitable means may be provided for locking thelever 44 in the desired position.

Means r-areprovided beneath the sorting section' il of the members IIfor collecting the onions which drop between the members. I l over thissec tion and for delivering these onions to one or vanother of aplurality of receiving stations. The

collecting and delivering means as embodied is in the nature of a binsituated immediately beneath the sorting section I1 of the members II,the bin having valved discharge openings at the front and an inclinedfloor of openwork construction along which the onions travel to theopenings and through which oor onion oleanings may drop to the groundbelow. As here preferably embodied, front and rear wall members 50 and5I, respectively, are held in spaced parallel relation to each other byparallel left and right side walls 52 and 53 respectively to form a.rectangular enclosure open at its top and bottom and extending fromfront to rear beneath the sorting sections I 1. vertical posts 55 at thesides of the enclosure are secured to the side walls 52 and 53 and tothe front' and rear wall members f2 for supporting the enclosure fromthel frame structure I0. A partition member 5B extends between the lwallmembers 50 and 5I parallel to the side walls 52 and 53 and divides theenclosure into right and left hand compartments as seen in Fig.' 3.Baffie members 51 at the front of the left-hand and right-handcompartments, respectively, are provided to control the discharge ofonions from each compartment, as will be described more fullyhereinafter. Grating members 59 extend in spaced parallel relation toeach other between the partition -member 56 and the side walls 52 and 53from adjacent the front wall 50 substantially the length of eachcompartment. These members are supported on edge at their ends in slotsin parallel front and rear footings G and 6i, respectively positioned atdifferent levels so as to form an open-work oor or grating substantiallyparallelling the plane of the roller axes. The'opening formed betweenthe grating members 59 and the front wall member 50 in each compartmentis normally closed by the baille member 51 which may be withdrawn ortilted to permit the flow of onions through the opening into a. basketwhich may be carried beneath the opening on a. shelf B2 verticallyadjustably supported from the side wall members 52 and 53.

The unit as a whole is preferably mounted on the auto chassis N to whichit may be secured in any suitable andI convenient fashion so as toposition the frame structure at the desired angle and enable itstransport with convenience. `For convenience in depositing the onions onthe members II at the feed end of the members, an inclined platform losmay be secured to the frame structure i0 at the feed end ofthe rollers.

In operation the onions yare dumped .onto the rapidly rotating cleaningand grading members i I at the feed end of the machine and aretransported by .the rope I8 to the delivery end. By reason of `the closespacing of the :body portions i4 of the members Ii throughout thecleaning sections I-S only the skin and dirt from the onions will falltherebetween as the onions are transported along the cleaning sectionsIB. The greater spacing between the body portions I4 over the sortingsection I1 and the lesser pitch of the rope I8 enables the smaller No. 2onions to drop ibetween lthe rollers iover this section onto the grat-,ing formed by the slats 59 positioned beneath the other or lboth `ofthe closure members 51 so as to' allow the onions to pass through 'theopening between the front ends of the slat members 58 and the front wallmember 50, into baskets which may be positioned therebelow on theplatform structure 52.

The larger onions, of say U. S. No. 1 grade, are

' delivered in a steady stream from the delivery end of the sortingsection Il.

By way of example in a commercial size apparatus for cleaning andgrading onions in aocordance with this invention, the members I I may be9 feet 51A inches long and of 31/2 inches diameter from the feed end tothe grading section Il where the diameter may be reduced to 2% inchesthroughout the 2 foot length of this section. The members II arepreferably spaced 41A inches on their axes so as to provide a 3A inchspace between the rollers over the cleaning section I6 through which thedirt and dead skin falls.

The rope I8 around each body portion Il may, under these circumstances,be inch in diameter and is wound around the portion I4 from end to endin such fashion that the turns are uniformly spaced 31/2 inches fromeach other over the cleaning section IB and 1 1/2 inches fromeach otherover the sorting section I l.

l 'I'he roller sprockets 28, 29. 30 and the driving pulley 37 areselected so as to drive all the rollers in the same direction,clockwise. as viewed from the feeding end of the rollers, and in thesame directions at the desired speed. A lspeed of approximately 55 R. P.M. has been found to be satisfactory for a unit of these dimensionsalthough a higher or lower speed imay obviously bevemployed. At thisspeed, the rope friction spins the onions over and over to rub on' thedead skin and dirt. It also distributes the onions all over the rollers.and' at the same time conveys them to the delivery end of the rollersand thus to the chute.

The roller frame structure I0 is suitably dimensioned to lprovide thenecessary inclination of the rollers I I from end to end and from frontto rear. Assuming the roller frame structure Ill to be 101/2 feetoutside dimension between the frame members I3 and 2 feet 10 inchesoutside dimension between lthe vfront and rear frame members I2, then.the frame structure may be provided with a 10 inch rise from front torear and a 10 inch rise from the feed end to the delivery end toestablish the desired inclination of the plane of axes ofthe members II.4

Illustrative of the advantages obtainable through the use of lthisinvention, a commercial unit of the foregoing dimensions is capable.with a crew of seven men of cleaning, grading land sacking an averageof 330 fifty-one pound sacks of U. S. No. 1 grade onions an hour, thusreplacing the' man hours of fifty men. Such a unit has cleaned, gradedand sacked 33,000 such sacks in working hours, with a crew of seven men.

The invention in its broader aspects is not limited to the specificmechanisms shown and described but departures may be made therefromwithin the scope of the accompanying claim without departing from theprinciples of .the invention and without s-acricing'its chiefadvantages.

What I claim is: Onion cleaning and grading apparatus comprising incombination; a set of elongated cleaning and grading rollers forreceiving onions to be cleaned, graded and sacked at one end and fordelivering said onions in a clean state and in separate streamsaccording to size at the other end, said rollers being supported forrotation on their v 7 respective lengthwise axes. the respectiverotational axes of said rollers paralleling each otherin .a common planewhich .plane is inclined upwardly both from the receiving. end to thedelivery end of said set and transversely of the rotational axes of saidrollers, each said roller comprising a body member of cylindricalcontour having a rope wound spirally thereon from end to end forrubbing, tumbling and abrading the onions. each body member being spacedfrom the adjacent body member throughout the maior portion oi' itslength by substantially o nly the diameter of said rope thereby to forma cleaning section, each said body member additionally being of reduceddiameter over the rest of itslength' thereby to form a sorting orgrading section and the ropes on said body members being wound in thesame direction with each rope having each turn equally spaced from thenext 'by a determined amount over the. entire length or the cleaningsection and by a lesser equal amount over the length of the gradingsection: 4 and, means for mechanically couplingv said rollersfor-simultaneous rotation in the same direction at the same speed.

- RICHARD D. BHEPPARD. REFERENCES CITED The following references are ofrecord-in the nie of this patent:l

UNITED STATE-s Plvrxtu'rxav

